Agi: Due panda giganti cinesi in arrivo allo zoo di Atlanta

AGI - La diplomazia dei panda continua a funzionare: due panda giganti sono stati inviati dalla Cina allo zoo di Atlanta, sulla base di un accordo decennale. Lo ha annunciato l'Associazione cinese per la conservazione della fauna selvatica. Ping Ping, maschio, e Fu Shuang, femmina, provengono da un centro di Chengdu, nella provincia sud-occidentale del Sichuan. L'intesa per il trasferimento nello zoo degli Stati Uniti è stato firmato nel 2025, nel solco di quel 'legame panda' che va avanti da oltre 20 anni.
Come funziona la "diplomazia dei panda" di Pechino
Pechino usa da oltre 80 anni i panda come strumento di promozione culturale e anche politica. Grandi animali sono stati inviati in parchi di numerosi paesi, ma non in vendita o in dono: si tratta sempre di prestiti temporanei, dietro il pagamento di una somma annuale intorno al milione di euro l'anno che Pechino usa per programmi di conservazione della specie.
La storia dello Zoo di Atlanta: da Yang Yang ai nuovi arrivi
"Lo zoo Atlanta e' lieto e onorato di custodire ancora una volta questa specie preziosa", ha dichiarato il presidente dello del parco che aveva accolto i suoi primi panda giganti Yang Yang e Lun Lun nel 1999. La coppia ha avuto sette cuccioli durante il periodo di prestito, 25 anni, e nel 2024 e' tornata in Cina con i due piu' giovani.

Two giant Chinese pandas are arriving at the Atlanta Zoo.

AGI - The panda diplomacy continues to work: two giant pandas have been sent from China to the Atlanta zoo, based on a decade-long agreement. This was announced by the All-China Species Conservation Association. Ping Ping, male, and Fu Shuang, female, come from a Chengdu center in Sichuan province, southwest China. The agreement for the transfer to the US zoo was signed in 2025, following that “panda link” which has been going on for over 20 years.

How Beijing’s “panda diplomacy” works

Beijing has been using pandas as a tool for cultural and also political promotion for over 80 years. Large animals have been sent to parks in numerous countries, but not for sale or as gifts: they are always temporary loans, behind the payment of an annual sum of around one million euros, which Beijing uses for species conservation programs.

The history of the Atlanta Zoo: from Yang Yang to the new arrivals

“The Atlanta zoo is pleased and honored to once again safeguard this valuable species,” said the president of the park, which welcomed its first giant pandas Yang Yang and Lun Lun in 1999. The couple had seven cubs during the loan period, 25 years, and in 2024 they returned to China with the two youngest.

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https://www.agi.it/estero/news/2026-04-25/panda-giganti-atlanta-36748727/

Zum #TagDerPinguine gibt's einen schlechten #Wortwitz für euch. 🐧

#KätToon #Pinguintag #Pinguin #penguin #PingPing

Robotic Ball-Bouncing Platform Learns New Tricks

[T-Kuhn]'s Octo-Bouncer platform has learned some new tricks since we saw it last. If you haven't seen it before, this device uses computer vision from a camera mounted underneath its thick, clear acrylic platform to track a ball in 3D space, and make the necessary (and minute) adjustments needed to control the ball's movements with a robotic platform in real time.

We loved the Octo-Bouncer's mesmerizing action when we saw it last, and it's only gotten better. Not only is there a whole new custom ball detection algorithm that [T-Kuhn] explains in detail, there are also now visualizations of both the ball's position as well as the plate movements. There's still one small mystery, however. Every now and again, [T-Kuhn] says that the ball will bounce in an unexpected direction. It doesn't seem to be a bug related to the platform itself, but [T-Kuhn] has a suspicion. Since contact between the ball and platform is where all the control comes from, and the ball and platform touch only very little during a bounce, it's possible that bits of dust (or perhaps even tiny imperfections on the ball's surface itself) might be to blame. Regardless, it doesn't detract from the device's mesmerizing performance.

Design files and source code are available on the project's GitHub repository for those who'd like a closer look. It's pretty trippy watching the demonstration video because there is so much going on at once; you can check it out just below the page break.

#art #cnchacks #robotshacks #ballbouncing #bounce #computervision #motioncontrol #pingping #platform #robotic